A/N: In a dimly lit chamber, a solitary monk was engrossed in transcribing an ancient and sinister script for his devoted followers. Unexpectedly, a small head popped up between his hands, revealing a curious onlooker—a little girl of merely five years old.
"Hmm...." she emitted a cute purr, her eyes holding complexity beyond her tender age. "Daddy, why do people despise you so? I believe you're changing for the better. You are no longer the evil person you once were." With surprising candor, she referred to herself as the monk's daughter.
A faint smile graced the monk's lips as he gently patted her head. "Go and have your meal," he kindly replied.
With a quick, adorable nod, the little girl hurriedly exited the room. However, upon reaching the entrance, a lingering question arose in her mind. "Daddy, why do we two live alone in this house? Don't you have any relatives?" she inquired.
The monk's expression turned solemn as he shook his head, tinged with melancholy. "Your mother was the only relative I had, and she perished in a car crash," he divulged.
The girl's demeanor softened, and she descended the stairs, leaving the monk to his thoughts.
Once she was out of sight, the monk's countenance transformed into a sinister grin, punctuating his revelation, "In the car were your two elder sisters and your mother, but all three defied me, and thus, I condemned them to the depths of hell! Hahhahhaha!" His laughter, tinged with demonic undertones, echoed through the room, which was now bathed in an eerie light from a flickering lantern.
The ink within the monk's pen darkened, and he assumed a more serious composure, murmuring to himself, "In just a few years, these mortals have forgotten the horror this monk had inflicted upon the world. It seems I must remind them, hahah!"
No one knew what the monk was going to do, but a new demonic script was brewing, ready to shock the world once more!
The monk didn't even flinch when he killed his kin, and the foolish people believed he had lost his evil.
But he was simply preparing.
This was the calm before the storm!
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Right now, a stunning pink-haired woman could be seen lying sprawled above Xia Tian, her eyes brimming with delicate tears, a truly rare sight to behold.
Xia Tian's piercing words effortlessly pierced through all her defenses, inflicting mental damage upon her vulnerable state.
However, the old fox, instead of showing genuine concern, wore a mischievous grin of satisfaction.
To claim he didn't relish the sight of his daughters' torment would be a blatant lie - witnessing his daughters reduced to tears brought him even greater pleasure than seeing his beloved toys cry.
While the earlier spectacle had eluded his view due to the unusual nature of Selene and others resembling him, Qin Yueling proved different as just a few words from him were enough to reduce her to tears.
And let it be known, the old fox was not truly angry; his disappointment in himself for failing to properly train her weighed heavily on his conscience.
ραndαsΝοvεl.cοm Had genuine anger consumed him, Ceilia would have met her untimely demise long ago.
Reflecting upon his words, it becomes evident that, devoid of any trace of anger, his indifferent response was the catalyst for the current unraveling of Ceilia.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ceilia finally lifted her tear-stained face, her eyes glistening like shimmering crystals with droplets of water clinging to their surface. The sight stirred something within Xia Tian, stimulating him slightly and making him momentarily dazed.
"Dad, I never meant to do any of this. I just wanted you!" Ceilia whispered, her voice trembling with regret.
But Xia Tian heard none of her words. He stood there, rooted to the spot, transfixed by the beautiful tears on Ceilia's face as she continued to pour out her heart.
Her voice cracked with every sob and her body trembled under the weight of her remorse.
She recounted how she believed that he would cease to pay attention to her if there were more daughters, which led her to take a drastic step ahead of time.
She explained how she thought that by abandoning her cultivation in her second life, she could subject herself to mortal pain and win him back.
Her voice grew weaker as she revealed the depths of her self-inflicted torment, hoping it would bring him back to her. "P-Please, punish me," she declared, her gaze unwavering as she locked eyes with Xia Tian.
In the past, he always punished her for her transgressions, so why not now?
She was willing to go to any lengths to regain his love and approval. Her desperation was palpable, hanging in the air like a heavy fog.
Xia Tian's smile stretched slightly wider, a flicker of understanding crossing his features as he nodded.
With that simple gesture, Ceilia's tear-streaked face blossomed into a radiant smile, as if a fragile flower had suddenly bloomed.
She didn't faint, as it first seemed, but instead clunged tightly against him with all her might. "D-Dad, I don't want to lose you," she murmured, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and determination.
Her words hung between them, heavy with meaning. "I know I am different... And not what you want..." she admitted, her voice tinged with sadness.
She continued, her voice filled with unspoken pain. "I may not be the ideal daughter you had in mind... I have failed you many times, but please, forgive me... Just this last time," she pleaded, her words laced with a desperate hope for redemption.
Tears streamed down her face as she made her final vow. "I swear, I will never repeat it..." Her voice trailed off, filled with the weight of her promise and a longing for a second chance.
Afterward, a heavy and suffocating silence descended upon them, swallowing Cecilia's voice.
Time stretched on, seemingly frozen in the same position.
Suddenly, a prickling unease crawled up Cecilia's spine, causing her to raise her face.
!!
"What??"
Instantly, her brows furrowed with a growing sense of dread as she searched the gloom for Xia Tian, finding only an empty void.
"W-What is this place?"
She stood alone in this desolate space, shrouded in darkness that seemed to eat away at her senses.
"D-Dad...?" she stammered with a mix of anxiety and fear, rising to her feet and taking hesitant steps forward.
She walked, unsure of the distance covered, until the realization hit her like a punch to the gut—she was trapped in an infinite void, with no discernible end in sight.
Determined to escape, she continued her hasty journey, her eyes glued to the empty canvas of darkness above. With a surge of resolve, she launched herself upward, hoping to spot an opening leading to freedom.
"Sigh," she let out a sigh filled with determination, as her figure descended through the air in a sudden rush, agilely navigating through the oppressive blackness.
Whoosh!
Finally, disappointed by the lack of a passage above, Cecilia turned her attention back to the surface, only to find it had vanished.
No matter how far she descended, there was no trace of solid ground beneath her feet.
"What!?" a disoriented and bewildered look etched itself across her face as she halted, her gaze darting frantically in every direction.
"A-Am I... lost?" she thought, a flicker of fear igniting within her as she felt a bone-chilling shiver race down her spine.
The prospect of being trapped within this boundless void sent waves of anxiety crashing over her.
Her eyes darted frantically, trying to piece together the fragmented puzzle of her surroundings.
She scrutinized every inch of the unseen space, desperate for any sign, any clue that could provide even a sliver of understanding.
With trembling hands, she summoned forth the power of light, her hopes clinging to the possibility of banishing the suffocating darkness.
But, to her dismay, the feeble glow only revealed an endless expanse of unfathomable blackness, as if the very darkness itself devoured the light.
Again and again, she repeated the process, as if trapped in an endless loop of fruitless attempts. Frustration intertwined with mounting fear, until she froze in mid-air, her body quivering with a mixture of dread and uncertainty.
Her face contorted with pure terror.
Her lips, tightly sealed, finally parted, and through trembling whispers, she called out, "D-Dad?"
The sound of her own voice boomeranged through the emptiness, amplifying her fears and causing her to startle, her heart racing in her chest.
"This... I don't like this," she stammered, her voice quivering with raw fear.
"This... it's too... scary."
Tears welled in her eyes as desperation overcame her. In a desperate plea, she beseeched, "Can you... please change my punishment?"
Right now, she just wished for Xia Tian to appear and make everything change.
However, despite lingering in that seemingly infinite space for what felt like an eternity, she received no response, leaving her consumed by mounting terror.
"W-was it all just an illusion?" she wondered aloud, her voice trembling with uncertainty.
"T-Then... where am I now?"
"Am... am I dead?"
"Is this... is this what it feels like after death?"
"To be trapped in eternal darkness?"
A torrent of thoughts flooded her mind, each fueled by fear and confusion.
Ceilia's appearance began to reflect the weight of her despair, her eyes now carrying the burden of exhaustion.
Though there was still qi present in this place, allowing her to replenish her strength, its presence only amplified her terror.
She had no concept of how much time had truly passed in this desolate realm.
Could it have been a year?
Ten years?
A thousand years?
Or perhaps even billions of years?
The answer eluded her, leaving her encompassed by an all-encompassing fear.
The idea of loneliness in this eternal dimension, a space that resembled her own demise, haunted her and shook her to her very core.
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